It's the year of the rats at ChaoBella, Crowne Plaza Today, Okhla

Don't get fooled by the name ChaoBella serving Chinese dishes, that's the way it is. In this restaurant at The Crowne Plaza Today, Okhla, Delhi you will be served the best Italian and the best Chinese dishes. Okhla Delhi is known for its industrial side, from lavish offices to sheds that houses the staff who work in the factories this area of Delhi has it all. It's no surprise that you could frequently see some some sharp suited personalities carrying officious looking briefcases darting in an out of these posh offices, looking for a place they can conduct business meetings without any disturbances. That's when they head to The Crowne Plaza Today Okhla, New Delhi, the only five star hotel in Okhla.

It's here we were invited for a dinner befitting a waning winter. The ChaoBella is celebrating the Chinese New - year of the rats with some dishes that turned out to be just right for the Delhi winter. A hot bowl of wanton soup with fresh vegetables swimming in it was like a warm hug and it disappeared before I could even say "wow this looks amazing".

As chef Saurabh Agrawal went out of his way to showcase a slightly mini version of what the menu was all about, placing in front of us nicely plated dishes I wondered how on earth was I going to make place for so much in my tummy. Soon a golden crisp prawns soaked overnight in condensed milk and fried fresh, laced with butter made way to the table just as a bowl of calamari was placed right after it. I took a deep breath requesting the chef to go bit slow. There was no way I wasn't going to taste the dimsums even if it did not make the appearance in the new menu. I still needed to taste the braised pork rib too. And I needed to go slow!

The steaming hot dimsum baskets began to appear with a choice of chicken, prawn and few vegetarian variety, I had to yet again remind myself of the braised pork ribs and that I should only be tasting and not gulping.

"I would definitely want you to taste the duck," said chef Saurabh. The menu is all about traditional dishes shared with family in case you are wanting to make a visit to the ChaoBella. So expect to see a whole lot of noodles denoting longevity, dumplings- wealth.chicken-reunion and birth, tofu- happiness and fortune, pork- peace, fish-prosperity and egg-health. The desert was served in a pretty glass consisting of mushroom fungi and goji berries dipped in honey.

Happy Chinese New Year to you. The Festival celebrating the year of the rats is on till 31st of January